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By Rommel C. Lontayao, Reporter
Business managers perceived that
only local governments and seven government agencies are sincere in
fighting corruption, according to a recent survey by Social Weather
Stations (SWS).
The SWS survey said the Office of
the President got the lowest negative rating (minus 27 percent) in a
group of 10 government agencies that it rated.
Results of the 2008 SWS Survey of
Enterprises on Corruption showed that city and municipal governments
and the Department of Justice, Department of Health, Commission on
Elections, Commission on Audit, Senate, Philippine National Police
and Armed Forces of the Philippines improved on their 2007
performance as graft busters.
SWS reported that “the
perception of corruption in the public sector did not improve, with
three out of five seeing ‘a lot’ of corruption in the public
sector.”
Some of those with improved
anti-corruption sincerity ratings, it added, still had low and
negative net ratings.
Of 30 institutions rated in both
2008 and 2007, only the following eight improved: city/municipal
governments (from 27 percent in 2007 to 35 percent in 2008),
Department of Health (from 29 percent to 30 percent), Commission on
Audit (from 21 percent to 23 percent), Armed Forces of the
Philippines (from minus 10 percent to 6 percent), Senate (from minus
7 percent to minus 6 percent), Department of Justice (from minus 21
percent to minus 17 percent), Philippine National Police (minus 25
percent to minus 18 percent) and Commission on Elections (from minus
36 percent to 27 percent), according to SWS.
“Filipino Business
Association” was ranked the highest with a net 64-percent
sincerity rating and Bureau of Customs the lowest, with a minus
72-percent net sincerity rating.
Mediocre to bad
SWS said that “seven agencies
had net scores of minus 10 percent to 10 percent, classified as
mediocre.” These were Department of Education (7 percent), Armed
Forces of the Philippines (6 percent), Sandiganbayan (5 percent),
Office of the Ombudsman (4 percent), trial courts (minus 5 percent),
Senate (minus 6 percent) and Department of Budget and Management
(minus 7 percent).
Government agencies that received
negative ratings were Government Service Insurance System (minus 12
percent), Department of Agriculture (minus 17 percent), Department
of Justice (minus 17 percent), Philippine National Police (minus 18
percent), Department of Interior and Local Government (minus 23
percent), Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (minus 23 percent),
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (minus 25 percent),
Commission on Elections (minus 27 percent), Department of
Transportation and Communications (minus 27 percent), and Office of
the President (minus 27 percent).
Getting poorer ratings were the
Land Transportation Office (minus 32 percent), Presidential
Commission on Good Government (minus 32 percent) and House of
Representatives (minus 41 percent).
Very bad ratings
Rated as “very bad” by SWS
were Bureau of Internal Revenue (minus 56 percent), Department of
Public Works and Highways (minus 63 percent) and Bureau of Customs
(minus 72 percent).
SWS said that “feelings that
the government can be run without corruption are weakening.”
It added that satisfaction with
the national government’s promotion of a good business climate
dropped in 2008, while satisfaction with the local-government
units’ promotion of a good business climate was higher and stable.
According to the survey, business
expectations were “fair,” compared to “good” in the last
three years.
The SWS Surveys of Enterprises on
Corruption, sponsored by The Asia Foundation, was conducted from
September 9 to October 10 using face-to-face interviews with
managers of 402 enterprises in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Metro
Davao.
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